Snoqualmie Valley Record

Right place at the right time: Mount Si soccer team keeps ball in motion for strong win | Photo gallery

October 23, 2013 · 12:58 PM Comments

Mount Si's Karli White battles for possession against Sammamish on Oct. 15. The team moved and passed the ball a lot against a physical opponent—a recipe for success against future challengers. / Derek Kasel

Michaela “KK” Wallace is a distributor—she’s all about sharing the ball. So she was understandably pleased with how the Mount Si varsity soccer team put away Sammamish, in last Tuesday’s road game.

It wasn’t star power that led to the 6-0 win. Rather, six different Wildcats, fed by five teammates, made the net last Tuesday in a physical, rough-and-tumble match.

“I love seeing a game where we have six people scoring,” said Wallace.

The junior scored on a clear-shot feed from freshman Natalie Wiedenbach, goals came from Karli White, Claire Johnson, Sophia Rouches, Maddy Hutchison, and Mackenzie Popp, who put in one on a penalty kick moments before the buzzer.

It was Hutchinson’s first goal of the season. Claire Johnson played the ball down the line and across the six-yard line of the goalie box. Hutchison knocked it into the net.

“You’ve got to be in the right place at the right time,” said Hutchison, a competitive player. “I enjoy it and I want to win,” she says. “I think it’s nice to get my name up on the board, get some stats. Hopefully, we’ll be able to keep them coming.”

The team kept possession of the ball for three-fourths of the game.

“This was an all around team effort and I appreciated the distribution across the board, which was great to see,” said head coach Darren Brown.

“We moved the ball around, to match their physicality,” said Sophia Rouches, Mount Si co-captain. “We moved the ball so they couldn’t get into us. That’s why we had different people scoring goals. Every goal happened a different way.”

Even when players missed shots, the Wildcats encouraged each other.

“Even when physical battles happened, no one lost their head,” said Rouches.

“Everyone is getting involved. Everyone is doing their part and working for each other. That’s what’s going to really help us the rest of this year.”

Mount Si varsity has some challenging opponents coming up. The ‘Cats lost a tough match Thursday, falling 3-2 to Lake Washington. In a post-game report, Brown said play and intensity was stronger in the second half.

“We play like that and we will have our opponent on its heels,” he said. “We have three more remaining in league and will need to play strong here on out. It’s a playoff atmosphere in these final two weeks of play.”

Mount Si hosts Mercer Island on Thursday, Oct. 24, then Liberty on Tuesday, Oct. 29. Game times are at 7:30 p.m.

• Follow the team at www.mshsgirlssoccer.com/.

Photo by Seth Truscott

Michaela "KK" Wallace pushes the ball during play, above. Below, Michaela “KK” Wallace and Sophia Rouches, among six girls who scored goals on the night.

Photo by Derek Kasel

Mount Si co-captain Kelsey Lindor heads the ball in play Tuesday, Oct. 15, at Sammamish. Below, Lindor on the field. The team held the ball and kept it moving to win, 6-0.